Walker leads Dems in new poll; Barrett tops Falk in primary

Madison -- A new poll shows Republican Gov. Scott Walker leading all his Democratic rivals in this summer's recall election, though his edge over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is within the poll's margin of error.

The survey by the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling also found Barrett with a lead over former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk in the May 8 primary. Also running in the primary are Secretary of State Doug La Follette and state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma. The winner of the primary will face Walker on June 5.

In head-to-head matchups, Walker led Barrett 50-45, led Falk 50-43, led La Follette 51-40 and led Vinehout 50-38.

The poll of 1,136 likely voters was conducted Friday through Sunday for the Daily Kos website and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Walker's lead was beyond the margin of error in all cases except for his race with Barrett.

For the primary race, the poll was of 810 likely voters and has a slightly larger margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. In that contest, Barrett had 38 percent, Falk 24 percent, La Follette 9 percent and Vinehout 6 percent. But 22 percent remained undecided.

The poll also showed Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch ahead of firefighters president Mahlon Mitchell, 46-40. Fourteen percent of voters were undecided in that matchup.

In Wisconsin's Senate race, U.S Rep. Tammy Baldwin was ahead of two of her Republican rivals and behind another. Those results were all within the margin of error.

It showed Baldwin leading Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald 47-40 and leading former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann 46-45. But former Gov. Tommy Thompson was ahead of Baldwin 47-45.

The survey did not include another Republican candidate, Eric Hovde. The field of Republicans will be narrowed in August, with the winner facing Baldwin in November.

About Patrick Marley

Patrick Marley covers state government and state politics. He is the author, with Journal Sentinel reporter Jason Stein, of "More Than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin.”